Season Preview: Who To Look Out For – Part Two

As the new PSA season approaches, we’ve identified eight players that we think can make big strides on the PSA World Tour this season and can shake up the top players in the world in the biggest events on the calendar to move themselves up the World Rankings.

Remember, you can watch all the best players in action on SQUASHTV.

Karim Abdel Gawad

Many people questioned whether we’d ever see Egypt’s Karim Abdel Gawad back on court at all, let alone return to the form that saw him lift the World Championship trophy in 2016. The Egyptian was suffering with a heel injury and was sidelined from May 2022- March 2023.

Upon his return at the Black Ball Open and Canary Wharf Classic, he put up two strong performances during defeats against Mohamed ElShorbagy and Paul Coll before moving to the Optasia Championships, where he overcame the likes of Diego Elias and Youssef Soliman en route to lifting the title, his first in 12 months.

Gawad hit top form as the PSA World Championships came around in Chicago, overcoming an extremely tough draw to reach the final, beating four top 12 ranked players and ultimately losing out to Ali Farag in the deciding match. The same happened a week later in Manchester for the former World No.1 as he reached back-to-back finals, only to again lose out to the in-form Farag.

Now ranked back inside the top 12, and without the need to defend any points in the first half of the season, the top 10 will be fearful of the ‘Baby-Faced Assassin’. We wouldn’t be surprised if the Egyptian finds his way back towards the world’s top five by the new year.

Satomi Watanabe

One of the breakout stars from last season was Japan’s Satomi Watanabe. The Japanese No.1 is now the highest ranked player from her country at No.18 in the world and has said that she is targeting the top 10 next season. Watanabe reached the quarter finals of the Hong Kong Open Platinum event and also recorded semi-final finishes at the Manchester Open and the Carol Weymuller Open.

Watanabe is a terrific athlete and adopts an aggressive style of play, always looking to volley and hit low kills to attack her opponents. This is the perfect mix to be able to take on the world’s top 10 this season. With a promising draw in the season-opening Paris Squash Open (she doesn’t reach a top eight seed until the third round at the earliest) a move towards the top 10 could be happening sooner than we think.

Mohamed Abouelghar

Former World No.7 Mohamed Abouelghar ended a 13-month spell on the sidelines following a knee injury when he took part in the Hong Kong Football Club Open in December, reaching the quarter finals of a World Tour event for the first time since the Qatar Classic in 2021. Abouelghar then produced some quality performances against the likes of Diego Elias and Ali Farag in close-run defeats at the Motor City Open and Black Ball Open before narrowly missing out on a place in the last eight of the PSA World Championships in Chicago as he lost 3-2 to Tarek Momen.

The Egyptian is undoubtedly a class act and possesses so many attributes that can shoot him back towards the top 20, maybe even the top 10. He is another player who has the benefit of not having to defend points and can attack the events that he’s entered with full force. With a proper pre-season under his belt, everyone in the top 30 needs to watch out for ‘The Bullet’.

Aira Azman

18-year-old Malaysian Aira Azman currently sits at World No.60 in the PSA Rankings, but has been as high at No.50 and has plenty of scope to improve further this season.

Azman (younger sister of World No.29 Aifa) reached three finals last season, claiming one title at the KCC PSA Challenge Cup in Hong Kong. The most impressive final appearance was her run at the Cannon Kirk Gillen Markets Irish Squash Open, where she reached the deciding match after beating Zeina Zein (who toppled No.2 seed Aifa) and Alexandra Fuller. She then narrowly lost a four-game final to top seed Jasmine Hutton. The 18-year-old moved onto the PSA World Championships, where she had booked herself a spot after qualifying from the pre-qualification event, falling to the experienced World No.21 Melissa Alves.

These results against top 30 players will have definitely inspired the Malaysian to push on this season, and with plenty of opportunities to move up there in the rankings, it won’t be long before there are two Azman sisters participating in World Tour events consistently.